A generic locking unit for a vehicle seat is disclosed in DE 10 2008 051 832A1. Such a locking unit comprises a rotary catch pivotably mounted about a pivot axis, for locking to a locking pin. A latching pawl pivotably mounted about a further pivot axis secures the rotary catch in the locked state. A pivotably mounted clamping element denoted as a tolerance compensation pawl exerts a closing moment on the rotary catch and in this manner eliminates play which is present between the rotary catch and the locking pin.
The latching pawl and the clamping element are arranged pivotably about the same axis and axially offset adjacent to one another on a bearing bolt and cooperate with the rotary catch. The rotary catch is mounted on a different bearing bolt. The two bearing bolts are designed to be approximately hollow-cylindrical and arranged offset in parallel to one another. The central axes of the bearing bolts are aligned with said pivot axes. The bearing bolts are fastened to side parts of a housing of the locking unit.
The locking unit is fastened to the vehicle seat by means of screws which penetrate bearing bores of the side parts and the bearing bolts and are screwed into corresponding fastening bores on the structure of the vehicle seat. The central axes of the screws are aligned at the same time with the central axes of the bearing bolts and with the central axes of the fastening bores.
The spacing of the central axes of the fastening bores to one another is denoted as the pitch. So that the locking unit is able to be fastened to the vehicle seat, the spacing of the central axes of the bearing bolts to one another has to correspond to the pitch on the structure of the vehicle seat. If the locking unit is intended to be fastened to a different vehicle seat with a different pitch, the locking unit has to be adapted to this pitch.